Threads and Chances
by KC-Chick
Summary: Ellie Nash is intriguing. Craig Manning can't wait to go exploring. [Crellie]


Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't own it. Please don't sue.

Title: Threads and Chances

Summary: Ellie Nash is intriguing. Craig Manning can't wait to go exploring. Crellie

A/N: Hmm...a little drabble that's inspired by "Weddings, Parties, Anything." And...the plot bunny bit me.

O.o

There's a reason Craig chose Manny. A reason that he chose her and then regretted it.

He was just too fucking intimidated by Ellie Nash.

Marco had been right. She was the cute, fun, drummer girl in the band. She was the girl that he hung out with all summer. The girl in group who had seen him in the lowest depths of the earth and the highest mountain tops. She knew him inside and out, left and right, up and down.

And that's exactly why he was intimidated.

Manny didn't know him.

Manny knew nothing about him.

Manny was safe.

If they got into a fight, she couldn't pull something that he'd said in group out and use it against him.

But she also couldn't do that smirk, say some sarcastic joke, and make him laugh like Ellie could. He couldn't sit behind her and teach her the art of funk drumming all afternoon and then pop in a funny DVD and call it a night.

He couldn't talk to Manny about his problems. He couldn't talk to her about the band. Or studying for finals. Or song inspirations, or anything really. She was good for making out, and more making out. And did I mention making out? Pretty much.

Ellie was great for all of that. All of that, and more. She was quirky, stubborn, and beautiful. And her nose crinkled up in that cute way when she giggled. Yes, Craig Manning could make Ellie Nash giggle. He could make her laugh and glare, smile and frown. He could make her get really honest and open up, and sometimes piss her off so much that she wouldn't want to tell him anything ever again. And the scary thing was, she could do the same thing to him.

When Marco had left them at The Dot that afternoon when they had booked the wedding gig, he had no clue what to do. Ellie was just sitting there. Sitting there all cute with her hair in waves and thanking him for the drumming lesson and suddenly he saw what Marco meant. And it scared the hell out of him. He was supposed to be monk. Not sitting there turning into goo over Ellie. But then thankfully Manny walked in and he invited her over. Because around Manny all he had to be was horny Craig. He didn't have to be normal Craig that Ellie could make him be. Yes, being around Manny was definitely safer.

And that's why when Ellie walked up in that black little number, Craig didn't know what to do. He knew Ellie was cute. But damn, in that dress she was _hot_. And he got distracted...and dropped the amp on Marco's toe. And then Manny showed up. And truth be told, he had felt bad for Manny after all she had gone through with that freak Peter. But that was no basis to ignore Ellie that night. Had she ignored him when he called her all those times because he was bummed out about Ash? Had she ignored him when he needed someone to talk to because everyone was treating him like he was crazy and he only felt normal around her? No, she didn't. She had always come over without question. She was always there for him.

And so, when he ran after her when she had stormed off after the set, he should have taken her hand, said sorry, and kissed her right there. But he didn't. He called her a _friend_. A close _friend_. And then he realized what an idiot he had been. And before he could take it back and explain his true feelings, she stalked off, clearly hurt. And he couldn't bear it.

So, Craig was planning on going over to her house and apologizing, explaining the whole thing, and finally admitting these feelings that he had. But on the way he found Manny sitting outside the Simpson-Nelson residence by herself in her pj's. They were friends, and it would have looked weird if he had just ignored her. But then she thanked him for inviting her to the gig and he kissed her. He kissed her without meaning to and when he pulled back, he didn't smile. She did. But he didn't. And he didn't smile not because the kiss wasn't good. But because she wasn't Ellie Nash.

But he couldn't take it back now that he had done it. He couldn't break Manny's heart while she was dealing with this whole video drama. So he stayed with her. He stayed with her even though it killed him that he wasn't with Ellie. And then it killed him even more when he saw Jimmy hanging out with her and bonding with her over drawing. That was their thing. He was the one that bonded with Ellie.

And so then they started bonding again. They got over the awkwardness of the wedding gig and started studying together. And laughing together. And having tickle fights and playful arguments. And it was back to old times. He just couldn't kiss her. In an intense moment when all he wanted to was to pin her down to the floor and kiss her, he couldn't. Because then once again he'd be labeled as the cheater. And that would label Ellie as the slut. And he wouldn't do that to her.

So when Craig thought she wasn't looking, he'd sneak glances at her. And he'd notice that she crinkled her nose when she got frustrated over some drawing. Not the same crinkle that she got when she giggled. But it was close. And he noticed other subtle things that weren't obvious about her. Things that you'd only notice if you paid really close attention. And Craig did.

Then he landed the music thing. And it sucked that the producers only really wanted him because he didn't know what he'd do without his back up. Mostly, he didn't know what he'd do without Ellie. So on nights when there wasn't some huge party going on, he'd sit on the hotel room bed with his guitar in hand, strumming a few chords. And then he'd wonder what Ellie would think. That would lead to him wondering how she was doing. Millions of times he'd pick up the phone reciever, ready to dial her number and tell her how much he missed her but then he'd remember that she wasn't his girlfriend. Manny was. And then he'd kick himself for not choosing her. Because she was the girl he thought about constantly. She was the girl who always came into his mind when he reminded himself that he _wasn't_ crazy. He thought about her when he wasn't supposed to. In ways he wasn't supposed to. Yes, that meant all his darkest desires. He wanted Ellie Nash. He wanted her so badly.

But he had taken the safe girl. The safe girl whose kiss he'd felt countless times. Whose body he knew and had explored millions of times. The curves were the same. The feeling was the same.

Ellie though, she was intriguing and mysterious. He didn't know how she'd react if he kissed her, or how her body would be placed. He didn't know how she would breathe or where she'd put her hands.

He knew all of that with Manny. He had experienced all of that with Manny. He was ready for something new. He was ready for Ellie.

All of this ran through Craig Manning's mind as he stood there on the Degrassi Community School steps watching Ellie and Ashley talk. Even in that goofy cap and gown, she was still beautiful.

Then she caught his gaze and smiled. He smiled back and all the while thinking: I'm a _complete_ idiot.

Later, at a graduation party at Paige's, he put on the show that he was happy to see Manny, PDA and all. But he caught secret glances at Ellie when Manny wasn't looking. And she looked happy. She looked genuinely happy and that was when Craig realized that he had missed his chance. All because he didn't have the balls to go for the girl who wasn't safe. The girl who indimidated him. The girl who knew everything about him.

What Craig didn't know though, was that he hadn't missed it yet. Ellie was still holding on. If only by a thread, but she still was.

"So, you're not going to say hey to your group buddy?"

"Craig!" Ellie smiled, wrapping her arms around him. "How are you? I've missed you! I mean, you know, we've all missed you," she blushed.

"I've missed you, too, El. How's the drumming going?" He really didn't know what to say to her. All he wanted to do was kiss her right there. But he couldn't. Not right now.

"Eh, not too good," she frowned. "I never was the best drummer."

"What? C'mon, you were fine."

"Yeah, only because of your lessons. Now without them, I've gone right back to sucking."

"Whatever, Nash." Ellie flashed a smile at him. She secretly loved it when he called her that. Because really, it was their thing. No one else called her Nash.

"What about you, though? The music thing? How's Vancouver?"

"It's...good. Just kind of lonely sometimes. And I've really missed everyone."

"Yeah, but you have to stick it out, Craig."

"I know, I know." There was a pause. Okay, here goes, he was going to ask her the big question. He scratched the back of his head with his hand and said, "But, hey, I was thinking maybe you could come visit next week?"

Ellie grinned. "Oh my, God! Are you serious? I would _love_ to!" She wrapped her arms around him again. Craig smiled. He was so glad she agreed. Truth be told, he hadn't even asked Manny to come visit.

"Good! I'll have the label take care of all the details."

"This is going to be amazing. I can't wait!" Ellie paused. "So, is that why you've been avoiding me all evening? Scared I was going to say no, or something?" Shit, she noticed that he was avoiding her. But of course she did. She was Ellie.

"What? Avoiding you? Whatever!" he lied.

Ellie raised an eyebrow. "Right, totally ditching the snack table right as I walked past? Craig, little piece of advice: work on the sneakiness thing. You're not that good."

He playfully glared at her. "Whatever, Nash. You're imagining things."

"Uh huh. Just like I've been imagining that Craig doesn't seem too keen on spending every moment with his precious girlfriend? Wow, that's a new one."

She noticed that too?

"No, I just don't want to suffocate her just because I'm back!"

"Oh, one more piece of advice, Manning. Work on the lying thing too," she teased.

"Craig! Hey, babe!" Ugh, it was Manny, interrupting things again.

"Yeah? What's up?" Craig asked, turning around.

She walked over to the two friends and whispered in Craig's ear, "Hey, can we talk?"

"Uh, _now_?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just...it's really important," Manny concluded.

"Yeah, sure." He turned around to Ellie, gave her a look of apology which she returned with a nod, and followed Manny to a more secluded area of Paige Michalchuk's house.

Manny turned to him, an anxious look grazing her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Craig asked, concerned.

"Look it's...it's this whole thing. I don't think I can do it anymore. And I wanted to tell you in person. I mean, while you were here, it was great. But now you're in Vancouver, and I've still got one more year of school left and I just...I don't think it's going to work. I'm sorry, Craig."

"Wait, are you breaking up with me?" Craig asked, not believing what he was hearing.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm sorry, I really am. But I have no idea how long the Vancouver thing is going to be and as much as I love our relationship, I can't wait. Not like this. I'm sorry." Manny walked away from him, leaving him standing there by himself. Only, what she didn't see is the huge smile he had plastered on his face. Manny had broken up with _him_. Now he could be with Ellie, and not feel like a jerk. Oh yes, the night was looking up for Craig.

O.O

Coming back to the party he found Ellie standing in a corner, looking kind of uncomfortable.

"Hey," he greeted her happily.

"Hey, is everything okay? Manny seemed kind of upset when you two walked away."

"Yeah, everything is fine. She just kind of broke up with me," Craig answered like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"And you're okay?" Ellie asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I kind of wanted to break it off too," he admitted.

"Oh," she answered. "Just wasn't working?"

"Yeah, that and--" Craig answered the rest of it by kissing her gently. It obviously caught her off gaurd but she didn't pull away. Their lips seperated and he grinned, so happy that he finally took the chance and kissed her.

"Craig," she began.

"No, no it's okay," he said, taking her hand and intertwining their fingers. "I should have done that a long time ago."

Ellie smiled and didn't ask questions. She just held his hand, happy that she had never let go of that tiny thread.

Craig smiled back at her. Now that he had taken the chance and kissed her, she wasn't that intimidating. She was still new, unexplored territory but that didn't scare him anymore. Rather, it intrigued him. He couldn't wait to go exploring.

o.O

A/N: Drabblish one-shot. What did ya think? Push that button and tell me! Review, please. And just a note: I enjoy long reviews...


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